Rudi Linz

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Rudi Linz

Born	(1917-02-14)14 February 1917 Ilmenau, Germany
Died	9 February 1945(1945-02-09) (aged 27) Meistad, Norway
Buried at	German war cemetery Bergen-Solheim Block 1—Row 17—Grave 10
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	JG 5
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Rudi Linz (14 February 1917 – 9 February 1945) was a Luftwaffe (German air force) fighter ace during the Second World war. Linz was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for a total of 70 aerial victories claimed. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

On 9 February 1945 Linz was shot down and killed in action flying Focke Wulf Fw 190A-8 (Werknummer 732183—factory number) in defense of the German destroyer Z33 in an operation which was later labeled as Black Friday by the Allied aircrew.^[1] Linz claimed his 70th and final aerial victory in this engagement over a North American P-51 Mustang possibly from No. 65 Squadron RAF.^[2] The Fw 190A-8 flown by Linz in his last combat still exists, and is being restored by the Texas Air Museum in San Antonio, Texas to at least display status, as of 2011.

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
German Cross in Gold (1 January 1945)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 12 March 1945 (posthumously) as Leutnant and pilot in the 12./JG 5^[3]

References

Citations

↑ Obermaier 1989, p. 159.
↑ Weal 2007, p. 43.
↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 293.

Bibliography

Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1941 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Weal, John (2007). More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-177-9.

v t e Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of Jagdgeschwader 5

Heinrich Bartels Albert Brunner Horst Carganico Hugo Dahmer Hans Döbrich Franz Dörr Heinrich Ehrler (Oak Leaves) Rudi Linz August Mors Rudolf Müller Helmut Neumann Jakob Norz Walter Schuck (Oak Leaves) Friedrich-Wilhelm Strakeljahn Theodor Weissenberger (Oak Leaves)

Persondata
Name	Linz, Rudi
Alternative names
Short description	German World War II fighter pilot
Date of birth	14 February 1917
Place of birth	Ilmenau, Germany
Date of death	9 February 1945
Place of death	Meistad, Norway

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